How Much Compensation Can You Get for CRPS?
The average compensation for complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS, depends on what led to your condition and how it impacts your life. CRPS usually results from injuries such as fractures, burns, or sprains and leads to prolonged, disabling pain. In Pennsylvania, you may pursue a lawsuit against the individual who caused your injury. Our dedicated CRPS lawyers at Cordisco & Saile, LLC, can help make the process easier.
Complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS, is a nerve condition involving long-lasting, disabling pain. It results from a sudden limb injury, typically caused by a car accident, or fall. CRPS affects every aspect of your life. You may be entitled to compensation for how CRPS has impacted you if the condition is due to another person’s negligence or a workplace injury.
The average compensation for CRPS depends on the extent of your economic and non-economic losses, including the pain and suffering of living with CRPS. Talk to the lawyers at Cordisco & Saile LLC for a free case evaluation to hear what options might be available for you.
What Is the Average CRPS Settlement?
Everyone’s CRPS case is different, with unique circumstances, so it’s hard to come up with a specific settlement amount. CRPS causes severe, ongoing pain after an injury to a limb. You might feel severe pain from even a mild touch or pain that appears out of nowhere.
Symptoms of CRPS vary widely, and it’s not always easy to find a cause. It also might not be easy to find a treatment for CRPS, and there is no definitive cure.
There are at least two legal routes to receive compensation for your losses from CRPS, depending on the cause—workers’ compensation or a civil lawsuit.
You can claim workers’ compensation if your CRPS results from a workplace injury. When injuries outside the workplace lead to your CRPS, you can seek compensation through a civil lawsuit.
Our Pennsylvania injury attorneys at Cordisco & Saile LLC can analyze your case, determine the best route to pursue compensation, and calculate the value of your claim.
Workers Compensation Claims
In Pennsylvania, employers must purchase mandatory workers’ compensation insurance through the State Workers’ Insurance Fund, a private insurance carrier, or a self-insurance program.
Workers’ compensation benefits pay your medical costs and replace lost income from your injury. How much you get is based on a formula that takes into account:
- The extent of your disability
- Your income before your injury
- Your income after your diagnosis if you were able to return to work
There are three types of disability under Pennsylvania workers’ compensation:
- Total disability
- Partial disability
- Specific loss of a body part
If you are more than 50 percent disabled because of CRPS, that’s considered a total disability under Pennsylvania workers’ compensation law. Your compensation will be two-thirds of your average weekly wage before the disability.
If you are less than 50 percent disabled, that’s considered a partial disability. If you return to work at a light-duty job, your workers’ compensation will be two-thirds of the difference between your new wages and what you earned before the injury.
If CRPS results in the permanent loss of the use of limbs or other body parts, you might qualify for compensation based on disability from permanent injuries. The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act provides a schedule listing the amounts payable depending on the body part affected.
Lawsuit for CRPS
CRPS usually happens after a sudden injury, leading to excessive and prolonged pain. CRPS may be acute—lasting less than six months—or chronic—lasting more than six months.
You might be able to file a lawsuit against a negligent party who caused the injuries leading to your CRPS. How much you receive depends on how CRPS affects your life. CRPS disproportionately affects women and veterans but results from a wide range of injuries. Injuries resulting in CRPS often result from the following:
- Automobile accidents
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Nerve damage after a stroke, heart attack, or other internal trauma
A settlement can provide the necessary resources to help you manage your life after a CRPS diagnosis. You deserve to work with lawyers who understand the condition and have a history of helping injured accident victims. Our Pennsylvania CRPS lawyers at Cordisco & Saile can help you understand your legal options.
When an insurance company makes an offer or a defense makes an offer to settle the case and we accept the offer, we feel it’s fair value, generally what’s the next step is to sign a release. A release is just a legal document saying for this amount of money I’m going to give up all claims against you.
After that release is signed we generally have to tender that to the defense and within a week or two they’re going to tender a check back to us and that check is made out usually to our firm and the client. That needs to be deposited into our attorney trust account and has to clear for a certain amount of time under ethics rules.
And during that time we prepare what’s called a schedule of distribution which is basically an accounting of what came in, our legal fees, all the expenses that come out, and the net amount to the client. That’s explained and gone over by our attorneys with the client. The client generally signs that, and then and once the check’s cleared we can distribute the check.
Sometimes there medical bills that need to be negotiated on behalf of the client. Sometimes there’s medical liens that need to be compromised. Summon process doesn’t just end when you sign the paper and you accept an offer.
What we do is we then compromise any outstanding medical bills. We’re calling every medical provider that you treated at and for whatever reason if your insurance doesn’t cover it, we go in and we contact them and ask them on your your behalf, to lower that bill.
At the end of the day that doesn’t come to us that comes directly to you. We’re not doing our job if we’re not maximizing the amount that you walk away with at the end of the day. We’re here to do one thing and that’s adequately compensate our client that has enlisted us in their fight.
What Factors Impact the Settlement Value of a CRPS Claim
A settlement will compensate you for your losses due to your injury. The extent of those losses will determine the amount of compensation you may receive.
Economic losses are the quantifiable costs resulting from your CRPS. You might have the following economic losses:
- Medical bills
- Rehabilitation costs
- Costs of physical therapy, psychotherapy, and spinal cord stimulation
- Pharmacy bills
- Lost wages.
- Lost earning capacity
- Lost business opportunities
You can also seek economic losses you expect to incur in the future, such as future medical expenses and future income loss.
In a lawsuit, you can also pursue non-economic losses. These take into account the profound challenges and effects on your life resulting from your CRPS, including the following:
- Pain and suffering.
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
CRPS takes an emotional, psychological, and mental toll on your life. Although CRPS does not directly impact life expectancy, it can worsen mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.
The chief factors influencing the settlement amount are the extent and severity of your condition. CRPS is a complex condition that varies widely between individuals. If you are having a particularly tough time, you might be able to receive greater compensation.
Is CRPS Hard To Prove in a Lawsuit?
CRPS can be hard to diagnose. In a lawsuit, you must show that your CRPS came from an injury caused by someone else’s conduct.
For a successful lawsuit, you and your attorney should provide evidence that:
- Your injury was due to another’s negligence.
- That injury led to your CRPS.
Among the evidence your lawyer might use to prove your case are:
- Evidence of the accident or injury, including witness testimony, photos, videos, and other physical evidence
- Evidence of your medical condition, including medical records, doctor’s visits, testimony from your doctor, and your own testimony about your condition.
Putting together this evidence might feel challenging. Our compassionate Pennsylvania attorneys at Cordisco & Saile have decades of history working for injured people in our state. Our past case results show how effective we have advocated for our clients. Our client testimonials speak volumes about our dedication.
Why Hire a CRPS Lawyer?
Hiring a lawyer for your CRPS case is your best chance of getting the compensation you deserve. An attorney has experience with Pennsylvania workers’ compensation claims and can advise you on whether a lawsuit makes sense.
Personal injury attorneys have experience with the rules of evidence and know how to negotiate a fair settlement with the other side. While you are managing life with CRPS, you do not need to take on the burden of mounting a legal case. A compassionate and knowledgeable CRPS lawyer can help.
Contact Cordisco & Saile Today
To learn your options for pursuing a CRPS settlement, contact Cordisco & Saile online or call us at 215-642-2335. We offer a free case evaluation, and you don’t pay us anything unless and until we recover compensation for you.
